Page 3 - Ukraine Civil War

Blinken visits Kyiv in show of support for Ukraine's efforts to oust Russia

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit Wednesday, hours after Russia launched its first missile attack in a week against the Ukrainian capital. Blinken's trip aimed to assess Ukraine's 3-month-old counteroffensive and signal continued US support for Kyiv's efforts to drive out the Kremlin's forces after 19 months of war amid concerns among some Western allies over the pace of progress, according to US officials. Those Washington officials said possible alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain will also be discussed following Russia's exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its frequent bombardment of port facilities in the Odesa region from where most grain is transported abroad. Those alternatives may include ships hugging coastlines to keep out of international waters where they could be targeted by Russia's navy. Other possible overland routes are also being examined. Blinken's visit is expected to include the announcement of new

Ukraine Defence Minister Reznikov will be replaced this week: Zelenskyy

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that defense minister Oleksii Reznikov will be replaced this week with Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar lawmaker. Zelenskyy made the announcement on his official Telegram account, writing that new leadership was needed after Umerov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war. Later in his nightly address, Zelenskyy said he believes that the Ministry needs new approaches and different formats of interaction both with the military and with society." The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is well acquainted with this person, and Umerov does not require additional introductions. I expect support for this candidacy from parliament, the president told the nation. Umerov, 41, a politician with the opposition Holos party, has served as head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine since September 2022. He was involved in the exchange of prisoners of war, political prisoners, children and civilians, as well as the evacuation of civilians from ..

Russia, Ukraine trade drone attacks; Kyiv claims it took out key defense

Russia and Ukraine traded drone attacks early on Wednesday, officials said, with Kyiv apparently targeting Moscow again and the Kremlin's forces launching another bombardment of Ukrainian grain storage depots in what have recently become signature tactics in the almost 18-month war. Later Wednesday, the Ukrainian intelligence agency claimed it had destroyed a key Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system in occupied Crimea. If confirmed, it would be another embarrassing blow for Moscow, as Ukraine increasingly targets Russia's assets far behind the front line in southern and eastern Ukraine. The agency, known by its acronym GUR, claimed on its official Telegram channel that Russia has a limited number of the sophisticated systems and that the loss is a painful blow. Moscow officials made no immediate comment. The long-range S-400 missiles are capable of striking enemy aircraft and are regarded as one of the best such systems available. They have a range of 400 kilometers

Zelenskyy thanks Denmark for pledging to send F-16s for use against Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Danish lawmakers on Monday for helping his country resist Russia's invasion, a day after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will provide Kyiv with American-made F-16 warplanes that could be delivered around the end of the year. Zelenskyy told the lawmakers that if Russia's invasion is successful, other parts of Europe would be at risk from the Kremlin's military aggression. All of Russia's neighbours are under threat if Ukraine does not prevail, he said in a speech in Copenhagen. Zelenskyy portrays Ukraine as defending Western values of freedom and democracy against tyranny. He has argued that Ukraine needs to be properly provisioned to fend off Russia's much bigger force. Ukraine has been pressing its Western allies for months to give it F-16s. Its armed forces are still using aging Soviet-era combat planes from the 1970s and '80s, and its counteroffensive against Russian positions is advancing without air support, which ...

Wheat prices rise after Russian attack on Ukrainian Port on Danube river

The escalation of hostilities in the breadbasket region could compound trade disruptions, after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal last month

US announces $200 mn security aid for Ukraine amid war against Russia

To extend help, the US further said that along with 5their allies, they will stand united for Ukraine

Tell Russia to stop using Ukrainian grain as blackmail: US challenges world

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken challenged all countries Thursday to tell Russia to stop using the Black Sea and Ukraine's grain as blackmail and stop treating the world's hungry and vulnerable people as leverage in its unconscionable war. America's top diplomat lashed out at Russia at a U.N. Security Council meeting for ignoring the world's appeals and pulling out of the year-old deal that allowed Ukraine to ship more than 32 tons of grain from Black Sea ports to needy countries. And what has Russia's response been to the world's distress and outrage? Bombing Ukrainian granaries, mining port entrances, threatening to attack any vessel in the Black Sea, he said. Blinken was chairing the signature event of the United States' council presidency this month on conflict as a key driver of hunger and famine. He announced that the United States, which has provided more than $17.5 billion since January 2021 to address famine and food insecurity, will give $362 million more to tackle

I think of leaving but the post of CM is not leaving me: Ashok Gehlot

"I sometimes think of leaving but the post of chief minister is not leaving me," Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said on Thursday almost tongue-in-cheek. The Congress veteran's remark came in response to a woman from Alwar who expressed her wish to see Gehlot continuing as the chief minister after the assembly elections slated for later this year. "The post of CM...I sometimes think of leaving but the post of chief minister is not leaving me. Let's see what happens going ahead," he said. Gehlot's remark, though made on a lighter note, assumes significance as he has been engaged in a power tussle with his former deputy Sachin Pilot since the last assembly elections in 2018. During her interaction with the chief minister, Dholi Devi, the woman from Alwar, also expressed her gratitude to him for launching the Chiranjeevi health insurance scheme under which she underwent heart transplant at a private hospital free of cost. On Indian Organ Donation Day, the chief minister interacted with som

India to attend Jeddah conference on Ukraine's peace plan on Aug 5-6

India is among a select group of countries invited by Saudi Arabia to a two-day conference on Ukraine's peace plan that will take place in the coastal city of Jeddah from Saturday. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that India's participation in the meeting would be in consonance with its long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward to resolve the Ukraine crisis. Several European nations, the US, China and India are among the countries invited to the conference. "Yes, India has been invited to a meeting being hosted by Saudi Arabia on Ukraine in Jeddah," Bagchi said, replying to a question in his weekly media briefing. "India will participate in this event and our participation is in consonance with our long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward," he said. The MEA spokesperson, however, did not mention who will represent India at the conference. "We will let you know (about level of participa

Most members of G20 Energy meeting condemned war in Ukraine: Chair

Most members at the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial meeting, which was held in Goa on Saturday, strongly condemned the Ukraine war and stressed it is causing immense human suffering, the chair of the meeting said. In an outcome document released after the meeting, the chair said most members expressed that the war was exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy, constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks. Union minister of power and new and renewable energy R K Singh was the chair of the meeting. India holds the G20 presidency this year. The war in Ukraine has adversely impacted the global economy, said the document. We reiterated our national positions as expressed in other fora, including the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, it said. The outcome document referred to Resolution No. ES-11/1 dated 2 March 2022, as adopted by majority vote that ...

Bulgaria agrees to send heavy military equipment to Ukraine amid war

Bulgaria has agreed to provide the Ukrainian army with some 100 armoured personnel carriers, marking a turnaround in its policy on sending military equipment to the country to aid Kyiv's battle against the Russian invasion. The parliament in Sofia late Friday approved by 148 votes to 52 the government's proposal to make the first shipment of heavy military equipment to Ukraine since the beginning of the war. This equipment is no longer necessary for the needs of Bulgaria, and it can be of serious support to Ukraine in its battle to preserve the country's independence and territorial integrity after the unjustified and unprovoked Russian aggression, the Parliament's decision said. The Soviet-made armoured vehicles were delivered in the 1980s to Bulgaria then an ally of the Soviet Union in the Warsaw Pact. Bulgaria, which joined NATO in 2004, still maintains stocks of Soviet-designed weapons and has numerous factories making ammunition for them. Although Parliament approved in the

What is the Black Sea grain deal that is at risk of falling apart?

Russia and Ukraine are among the world's top grain exporters, and their conflict sent food prices surging around the world

Int'l centre opens to help hold Russian leadership accountable for Ukraine

An international centre opened on Monday in The Hague to support nations already building cases against senior Russian leaders for the crime of aggression resulting from the country's invasion of Ukraine. The International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is the latest step in concerted worldwide efforts to hold the Russian leadership criminally responsible for its war against Ukraine last year, triggering Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. The centre is based at the headquarters of the European Union's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust. It will not issue indictments or arrest warrants for suspects. Instead, it will support investigations already underway in Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said in a statement that the launch was a clear signal that the world is united and unwavering on the path to holding the Russian regime accountable for all its crimes. He added that .

Need to ensure our interest is best served: Jaishankar on Ind-Russia trade

EAM Jaishankar said on Monday that India should keep its relationship with Russia going and see how the interest of the Indian people is best served

Russia tortured, executed Ukraine civilians; Kyiv also abused detainees: UN

Russian forces carried out widespread and systematic torture of civilians who were detained in connection with its attack on Ukraine, summarily executing dozens of them, the United Nations human rights office said Tuesday. The global body interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses for a report detailing more than 900 cases of civilians, including children and elderly people, being arbitrarily detained in the conflict, most of them by Russia. The vast majority of those interviewed said they were tortured and in some cases subjected to sexual violence during detention by Russian forces, the head of the UN human rights office in Ukraine said. Torture was used to force victims to confess to helping Ukrainian armed forces, compel them to cooperate with the occupying authorities or intimidate those with pro-Ukrainian views, said Matilda Bogner. The report, which covers a 15-month period from the start of the Russian invasion to May 2023, also documented 75 cases of arbitrary detention

Denmark to start training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s amid war with Russia

Denmark's government said Monday that the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 jets has started and the retirement of Scandinavian country's fleet of aging US fighters has been moved up two years. The replacement fighters, F-35s, will be operative by 2025, acting Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said. Initially, the switch was planned for 2027. Lund Poulsen said that NATO-member Denmark has taken the step of starting a training and further education effort for the Ukrainian pilots." We will also consider whether we should make a concrete donation to Ukraine of the Danish F-16 fighters, and how many there should be," he said. Ukrainian pilots must spend six to eight months of training before a possible donation of Danish F-16 aircraft can become a reality, Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR. This does not mean that you cannot make a decision beforehand. But (the F-16 planes) will be in Denmark until 2024, Lund Poulsen said. Denmark has ordered 27 F-35A fighter jets, which

An accounting error by US frees up arms worth $6.2 billion for Ukraine

The United States said that the valuation errors did not limit Washington's provision of support to Ukraine

Norway to provide $23 mn for nuclear safety in Ukraine amid war with Russia

"A nuclear accident in Ukraine would have consequences not only for Ukraine itself, but also beyond the country's borders," she said in a press statement on Monday

Russia not letting aid workers into areas hit by Ukraine dam collapse: UN

The United Nations has rebuked Moscow for allegedly denying its aid workers access to Russian-occupied areas affected by the recent Kakhova dam collapse in southern Ukraine, which stranded residents, threatened power supplies and caused an environmental calamity as the war approaches 16 months. The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said in a statement late Sunday that the organisation has engaged with Moscow and Kyiv, each of which occupies parts of the southern Kherson region where the dam and reservoir are located, to address the devastating destruction caused by the breach. The Russian government has so far declined our request to access the areas under its temporary military control, Brown said. "We urge the Russian authorities to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law, her statement added. Exclusive drone photos and information obtained by The Associated Press indicate Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to

First batch of tactical nuclear weapons moved to Belarus, says Putin

To this, the US government says there is no indication that the Kremlin plans to use nuclear weapons to attack Ukraine